The good vibes have swung back in the Alabama Crimson Tide's favor! After not looking the part in their rematch with Georgia in the SEC Championship a few weeks ago, the Crimson Tide made sure the Oklahoma Sooners were not going to beat them twice this year. Despite being down 17-0 early in Norman, the Crimson Tide just pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history.
In their 34-24 come-from-behind victory over the Sooners, Alabama became the first road team to win a College Football Playoff game. Yes, it is only the fifth such first-round home game to date, but leave it up to the Tide to be historic once again. As for Oklahoma, the Sooners have now dropped to 0-5 all time in the playoff, dating back to their first entrance into the four-team field a decade ago.
The good news for the Crimson Tide is even after doing something historic, they may have another trend working in their favor. Last postseason saw not only every home team win their first playoff game, but they then went on to defeat a team who had a first-round bye into the quarterfinals. Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State all lost their respective national quarterfinals game.
Up next for No. 9-seeded Alabama will be the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Alabama's chances of making it to the Peach Bowl are not all that bad...
Let's make one thing clear. The top four seeds in this year's playoff all earned those designations. While Oregon and Georgia would have been top-four teams in any format from a year ago, keep in mind that Boise State and Arizona State were massively overseeded in that field. Had it been under this year's format, Texas would have been the No. 3 seed and Penn State would have been the No. 4.
So with Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech arguably properly seeded, it will be challening for teams like Alabama and whomever else comes out of the first-round games to prove victorious in the national quarterfinals. That being said, Alabama has the roster to potentially win multiple playoff games. While the playoff is not untrodden territory for Indiana, being the No. 1 seed most certainly is.
Should the Crimson Tide pull off the neutral-site upset of Indiana in the Rose Bowl, they will be facing whoever comes out of Texas Tech's quadrant in the Peach Bowl between the Red Raiders, the Oregon Ducks, or the James Madison Dukes. Now that Alabama has advanced past Oklahoma, the Crimson Tide are one of the most dangerous teams left in the tournament. This is a new season for everyone!
Right now, Alabama is hoping last year's national quarterfinals are a sign of more to come this season.